Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos in 1963) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter often heralded as an eccentric genius in all of the best ways. In our recent interview with Tori, she discusses the aspect of turning 50, raising children, composing her new record Unrepentant Geraldines and her love for fans who let her experiment.

Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full scholarship to the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, the youngest person ever to have been admitted, at age five. She was expelled at age eleven for, in her own words, insisting on playing by ear and because of her interest in popular rock music.

Amos was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990’s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument. She is known for her emotionally intense songs that cover a wide range of subjects including sexuality, religion and personal tragedy. Some of her charting singles include Crucify, Silent All These Years, Cornflake Girl, Caught a Lite Sneeze, Professional Widow, Spark and A Sorta Fairytale.

Amos has recorded and released several live records, EPs, compilations, bootlegs and 13 studio albums selling million worldwide. Having a history of making eccentric and at times ribald comments during concerts and interviews, she has earned a reputation for being highly idiosyncratic. As a social commentator and sometimes activist, some of the topics she has been most vocal about include feminism, religion, gay rights and sexuality.

Her fan base is one that is die-hard and Unrepentant Geraldines has gathered steam fast on Last.fm. Spiking up over 13k concurrent listeners on release day, the album already holds 246k+ scrobbles and climbing since its May release and the songs are dominating her present charts.